Opinion: A Dirty Little Secret

There is a dirty secret in the direct response industry no one seems to want to address. Most small stations like network affiliates in small to mid-size markets see don’t much revenue from any one direct response agency. Even those who use more than one agency may see very little return on their investment.

However, for the direct response agencies and marketers the numbers are good...enough.

What if the numbers were also good for every network and remnant airtime was an essential part of their advertising revenue strategy? It is possible and it would be more profitable for everyone. What need to change to make this happen?

Marketers have to be able to close significantly more sales on the initial call or web site visit than they do now. Delivery times have to change to under a week for all but the most novel of items.

Call center employees have to be well trained, enthusiastic sales people that add a special human touch. A web site alternative has to exist and it has to motivate the user to want to buy right away through the use of limited time offers and promo codes.

If direct response TV commercials can be more profitable for each individual station, the industry will experience phenomenal and unprecedented growth.

brian@directresponse.tv